Elite Dangerous

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Multiple Ship Ownership

In Elite: Dangerous players can purchase and own multiple ships. The player can only pilot a single ship at a time, so other ships they own must be stored somewhere, and made accessible to the player in a believable, fun way.
The player acquires ships from various traders and vendors around the Galaxy.
Players will primarily purchase ships for credits from ship yards
Ships may also be won through bets and competitions
Ships may be given as rewards for events or missions the player completes
When the player has acquired a new ship they will receive the choice to switch to the new ship or continue flying their current ship
A choice like this is only offered in places where a ship can be stored otherwise the newly acquired ship will be somewhere else waiting for the player to go pick it up
Players can trade in the ship that they are currently flying when purchasing a new ship
Players will receive a percentage of the value of their ship if they decide to trade in their ship
This percentage is based on wear and tear a ship can sustain over its career and its current state of maintenance so well maintained ships will have a higher percentage than beaten up ones
Players will lose any cargo they have in the ship if they choose to trade in their ship to buy a new one
Players will receive a warning allowing them to back out of a purchase and go sell their cargo
Many shipyards have trading points where players can sell their cargo, although rates may be less competitive than at other markets
Alternatively any cargo can be transferred to the new ship if able prior to being sold/disposed of
Fitted equipment will need to be stripped out and stored as cargo for it to be transferred from the old ship to a new one
Any transfers of cargo and/or equipment can be transferred for a fee.
If the trade in value of the player’s current ship is higher than the value of the ship they wish to buy, they will receive the surplus in credits
The player will receive a warning when they choose to trade in to ensure they don’t trade in a ship by accident
Players can store ships they are not currently piloting
Initially the player will have nowhere to store a ship
The player will be able to rent (or buy) hangar space – for an initial fee, and then a rental. Not all stations will have storage space, and some will be cheaper than others. Storage spaces will come in a range of sizes (s,m,l). There isn’t a cap to the number of ships a player can store this way, other than the drain on their cash
A number of different facilities can offer ship storage, with a range of different prices
E.g. functional - shipyard storage, luxury – High end Storage attached to high end residencies in central locations, cheap – warehouses in remote locations
Storage fees are deducted daily from their account, and there is an additional fee in some locations (generally the cheap ones) to retrieve the ship from storage, when the player wishes to pilot the ship again
The fee increases over in-game time only (i.e. if you’re logged off it won’t increase)
Players can store their ships at multiple locations
Registering a new location for ship storage costs a fixed one-time fee
Once registered a player can visit that location or any other registered storage location they have to arrange ship transfers between them which costs a fee to transport them, based on distance and law level of the intervening route (though the transfer happens magically – perhaps on a giant freighter).
Players can only swap their current ship whilst in a registered storage location
If the desired ship isn’t present then the player must arrange a transfer which costs a fee and takes time based on the distance the transferred ship needs to travel to get to the current storage location
The same restrictions and pricing as above are applied here too
Once the transfer is complete the player is notified and is able to dock and swap their ships putting their old ship in storage at that location providing they can also pay the storage fee accumulated for the transferred ship since it went into storage (including all previous storage locations it’s been at and transferred from since last flown)
Cargo and equipment can be transferred for a fee, as with ship purchase.
Players can buy a new ship without trading in their current one but must choose which of the two ships they would like to pilot afterwards
The ship the player chooses not to pilot will have to be sent to any of the player’s registered storage location (possibly including the same station they’re at)
If no storage location is registered then the player is forced to register one
If a storage location is available (or has just been made available as above) it can be selected for the ship to be sent to without needing to pay a transfer fee as this is included in the price of the new ship (i.e. ensures that the player can transfer their ship despite having no money left after the purchase)

Crime List
There are a set number of recognised crimes; they come in two severities:
Minor Crime – Punishable by fine
Unlawful Discharge - Unauthorized firing of weapons near a structure or ship controlled by the factional authority in the system
Collisions – Colliding with a ship or owned structure enough to cause damage
Shields soak up most collisions
Damage is caused when two ships collide with a certain force
A ship is exempt from this crime if docked or “dropped anchor”
“dropped anchor” is a player initiated act that takes a small amount of time and protects against the exploit of quickly coming to a stop in front of a moving ship
Stolen Goods – Being detected carrying stolen goods
Illegal Goods (Minor)– Being detected carrying goods that are classified as illegal in the current system according to the factional authority
Illegal goods includes passenger transporting of persons with reported crimes in the system
Illegal dumping – Being detected jettisoning toxic cargo
Jettisoning any cargo within a set distance from a dock is counted as illegal dumping
Obstructing Justice – ignoring a request from factional authority vessels and structures (such as fleeing instead of stopping to allow a scan or trespassing in restricted space)
Major Crime – Punishable by attack (via Pilot’s Federation bounty/faction bounty)
Attack on a ship or structure– firing on and hitting an owned structure or locking on and firing at a ship
Murder/Ship Destruction – causing death/destruction of an owned structure
This includes destruction through collision
Illegal Goods (Major)– Being detected carrying goods that are classified as highly illegal in the current system according to the factional authority
Public Enemy – Failure to pay a fine for a set number of times
Jurisdiction
With the exception of Pilot’s Federation Bounties, a crime is only ever committed within a jurisdiction; in unregulated space such as dark systems and anarchies crimes are ignored
A jurisdiction always belongs to a faction
The defining nature of a jurisdiction is that it contains facilities to receive information transmitted by ships
These facilities range from space stations and inhabited planets to automated defence stations and satellites
Large vessels owned by the faction also provide this functionality, effectively generating a jurisdiction in the area they occupy
Witnesses and Reporting
Even within a jurisdiction, crimes must be witnessed in order to count as a crime
All NPCs can act as witnesses to all crimes that don’t need special equipment to detect
The chance they will report it depends on
Their archetype (ie a pirate is unlikely to report piracy or whether they are an archetype with local law enforcement powers)
Whether they saw it clearly enough to be able to identify the ship (ie on distance) and they will have to perform an active scan to do so
The reputation of the perpetrator (communicated via a simple dialogue)
Players can purchase cargo scanners, and for players that have achieved a high enough local status these can be equipped with secure law enforcement software that can also be used to report smuggling, for which in most jurisdictions there is a reward based on the value of contraband apprehended.
Police patrols and occasional NPC vigilantes will also be equipped with cargo scanners, and may also do spot searches.
Players may turn off their ‘squawk’ such that even if attacked the crime is not automatically reported.
Pilot Federation Bounties
When a member of the Pilot’s Federation is attacked, they have the option of setting a Pilot’s Federation Bounty on their assailant, within a preset min and max credits for this
This action is time limited – they forfeit the ability to set a bounty after a set time elapses once they have entered a different session (eg through death or hyperspace)
Should their ship be destroyed by the assailant they have a limited amount of time from when their escape pod arrives at a dock to set the bounty
Launching from a dock forfeits this ability if not already set
The credit value of a bounty must be available in the player’s account, and is immediately deducted.
A Pilot’s Federation Bounty can only be claimed by any member of the Pilot’s Federation
The Pilot’s Federation Bounty system does not bypass local laws such as “Unlawful Discharge” that may be active so players need to bear this in mind
A Pilot’s Federation Bounty is only removed if claimed by a bounty hunter or redeemed by the perpetrator
Redemption can only occur after a set significant time period has elapsed (eg 1 calendar week) and the perpetrator makes financial restitution of a significant multiplier of the bounty (eg 10x) to the Pilot’s Federation
Detection and Rap Sheet
When a crime has been witnessed and reported it is logged to the perpetrator’s rap sheet, but this rap sheet is not visible to other ships by default unless they were direct witnesses – ships must scan the perpetrator and even then, they will only receive details out outstanding bounties applicable for the current jurisdiction(the scan automatically cross-references local authority reports) and active Pilot’s Federation bounties
Players may have positive reputations with certain law enforcement agencies, then the scanner will be able to look up details of crimes committed in other jurisdictions
A ship will detect and inform its commander when it is being scanned
Some advanced scanners can scan without being detected
Once a ship has been scanned, its commander’s outstanding bounties for the current jurisdiction are known to the scanning commander until the two commanders are not in the same session (discounting the ‘hot pursuit’ effect if you follow them through hyperspace)
A commander can view their full rap sheet at any time
A rap sheet contains the precise breakdown of crimes that the commander has been detected committing
Each crime has a fine or bounty value attached to it
Right to Retaliate
When a commander is the victim of a major crime within a jurisdiction they automatically receive the right to retaliate:
Their ship automatically scans the perpetrator, giving them knowledge of the outstanding bounties in the current jurisdiction
They count as a witness and automatically transmit the crime to the factional authority controlling the jurisdiction
They are allowed to attack the perpetrator with impunity in any jurisdiction controlled by the same factional authority as where the crime was witnessed and reported
The right to retaliate does not grant immunity from prosecution in jurisdictions controlled by different factional authorities
Note: If the commander is attacked in a jurisdiction that does not recognize the crime, the commander does not gain the right to retaliate!
In unregulated space no crime is ever committed and any form of retaliation is acceptable
Authority Response
Once a major crime has been reported to the factional authority that controls the jurisdiction a response is dispatched to the location – and that dispatch will be rapid – usually they would arrive by hyperspace within a minute if they respond at all.
The size of the response is related to the severity of the crime, modified by the total amount of crimes logged for the location and the background simulation for the system
If the victim is present at a location when authority ships arrive the crime is instantly detected by the authority ships and they gain knowledge of the perpetrator’s rap sheet
If the victim is not present the authority ships will be required to scan the perpetrator to detect the crime and gain knowledge of the perpetrator’s rap sheet
Their behaviour will in general lean towards scanning all vessels once they arrive but may be influenced by reputations and ship appearance to the point that a scan is guaranteed or never initiated
The standard response for a major crime will be to attack directly once a faction bounty has been detected though we may have archetype variations for law enforcement where they give a warning – giving the option of a bribe or of buying off the bounty at 10x (or more) there and then.
Once a crime has been detected by a factional authority vessel/structure whilst an authority ship remains in direct contact all associated ships and structures of the faction also have knowledge of the perpetrator’s rap sheet. Otherwise they have to choose to look it up as normal.
This knowledge persists according to rules described earlier in the Detection section
Multiplayer - crimes against human commanders that cause a bounty to exist make the criminal able to be matched with any other human commander present in the “all players” group
This punishment lasts for a set amount of game time
Consequences
Fines
When the player is witnessed committing a crime punishable by fine, they immediately accrue the fine and have a set period of time in which to visit a representative of the appropriate faction/Pilot’s Federation and pay it
Failure to pay within the time allotted increases the fine
Once a commander has failed to pay within the allotted time a set amount of times they commit the public enemy crime for the faction/Pilot’s Federation
A commander always has access to his crime sheet to view fines
Faction Bounties
A faction bounty can be claimed by anyone that destroys the perpetrator whilst having knowledge of their rap sheet
Knowledge of the rap sheet can be obtained via a scan of the perpetrator or from an event or mission (which acts the same as if the perpetrator had been scanned)
The destroyed husk of a perpetrator can be scanned to obtain its ID and then look up its rap sheet – though attacking a ship without having knowledge of its rap sheet would itself be a crime, so it is safer to “scan first, shoot second”
The commander that delivered the killing blow on a perpetrator obtains a bounty data item ‘voucher’ if they have knowledge of the perpetrator’s rap sheet
This voucher can be traded in at a dock that contains a representative of the appropriate factional authority to claim the bounty
The voucher can also be traded between players (presumably at a discount) to cover players that might be unable to cash in the voucher due to crimes of their own.
When a commander with a rap sheet gets their ship destroyed, any faction bounties are immediately turned into fines via a conversion factor
The commander’s “failure to pay fine count” is also reset
This does not prevent a commander that destroyed the perpetrator’s ship whilst having knowledge of their rap sheet from claiming the bounty
Bounty vouchers once created will have to be cashed in within a particular time, or they will expire.
Crimes and Docking
When a commander with a rap sheet arrives at a dock via escape pod they are automatically scanned and knowledge of their rap sheet for the current jurisdiction is given to the faction that controls the dock
When a commander with a rap sheet arrives at a dock in their ship, they may be scanned:
The chance of being scanned is modified by reputation and ship appearance
If there is ‘hot pursuit’ by the same factional authority as that owning the dock, then the dock also has knowledge of the commander.
No action is taken against a commander for crimes on the rap sheet that occurred in jurisdictions not under the control of the factional authority that owns the dock
If a commander has crimes on their rap sheet that occurred within a jurisdiction controlled by the factional authority that owns the dock the following event automatically occurs:
The commander must pay off all fines before they can leave in addition to any payments required to obtain a ship
The commander must use a creditor if they lack the funds to pay off the fines
Based on chance and reputations, a commander may be able to bribe the dock authorities into “looking the other way”, allowing the commander to launch without paying off fines, or even to mark them as ‘cancelled’
Missions/Events and Exemptions
Based on reputations, game logic and contacts, missions and events can be generated that affect a commander’s rap sheet
Rap sheets can be used to generate bounty missions awarded via bulletin boards and contacts
Based on reputation, events that allow commanders to hail authority vessels and bribe them to let the player escape (or even in extreme circumstances turn bounties into fines or clear rap sheets) can be generated
Contacts may be able to alter, reduce or clear rap sheets
Such services are rare and will always entail a cost of some kind
Commanders with sufficiently high reputations can petition for Letters of Marque from the Empire or Warrants from the Federation
Letters of Marque and Warrants authorise attack and plunder of vessels openly allied to the specific opposition faction, but only in independent space (jurisdictions not controlled by the either opposing faction)
Letters of Marque or Warrants mean that certain actions are no longer crimes for that player.
Letters of Marque and Warrants can effectively give the player law enforcement powers in that area, and corresponding greatly reduced chance of scan/search.

Groups

A player can only exist in one of the following groups at a time:
All Players Group– Players in this group will be matched with each other as much as possible to ensure as many human players can meet and play together
A player’s Friend List and Ignore List is used automatically to indicate preferences in match making so that friends will be matched instead of others if a choice exists(though this is a fuzzy system so there are no guarantees)
E.g. In a nearly full session a player with more friends in the session than that of another arriving at the same time would mean the first player getting in and the second spawning a new session instead
Players can use an option to indicate they would like friends of friends to be included in the preference system described above (which basically expands their friends list for the purposes of preferences under the hood only)
Players playing on ‘Iron Man’ mode will only be matched with other ‘Iron Man’ mode players
Private Group – Players in this group will only be matched with other players in the same private group
Players can create their own private group and invite people into it
To help facilitate inviting players into a private group, players can be indicated as friends in game and can be selected easily for sending invites out too
Any player can be invited into a private group regardless of friend status so player name searching and direct in-game selection is possible
A player who accepts such an invite will be removed from their current group upon the next hyperspace jump and be placed in the private group of the inviting player
A player who refuses such an invite will remain in whatever group they were already in and the option to ignore future requests from that player during the current gaming session is presented
Players can only invite other players of the same type (normal, iron man) to a group
Players can save private group settings including players to invite to allow quick selection and set up of groups
A player can set an option to allow friends to “quick join” into their private group
They can change this option at any time
Players will be able to see on their friend list that other friends are in private groups and that some may have a symbol indicated they’re free to “quick join” into the group without needing an invite
The “quick join” option can be extended to allow friends of friends in freely also
A player wishing to join another player’s private group will have to message them asking for an invite as there is no way to formally request admission into the group
Players will thus typically set the “quick join” option if they don’t want the hassle of their friends having to message them when they want to join in with the group
Only the original private group creator can invite others into their group. They can also do the following:
Kick other players out of the group
Disband the group resulting in all the other players entering their own individual private groups with “quick joining” disabled (gives them the opportunity to play solo or decide to join the all players group)
Pass their leadership and thus all these options to someone else in the group
Upon disconnecting, logging off or leaving the group automatically passes leadership to the oldest private group member, i.e. the first player to accept an invite into the group that is still present
When creating a group the player creating it can decide how the group will react to crimes committed by players while in the group
The player can decide to either count only crimes committed against other players, or against AI ships
The player can decide if a player who earns a bounty is either kicked back into the all players group, or can be kept in the private group
Solo Group – Players in this group won’t be matched with anyone else ever (effectively a private group with no one else invited) with the following properties:
Players in this group are effectively indicating they want to be left alone and not disturbed by anyone else
By default group and friend invites are ignored but this can be enabled if desired
By default a player’s online status is hidden (set to offline) from others but this can be change if desired
A player in this group can still see when other friends come online and can message them
A player in this group can still receive messages from friends (possibly revealing the fact that they are online by virtue of return messages but still indicated as being offline)

As described above a player also has a Friend List that they can manage which helps facilitate inviting players into private groups and allow preferences to be taken into account when joining sessions:
A player can request friendship with others
An accepting player will add themselves to the player’s friend list as well as adding the player to their own list as well
A refusing player will remain off the other player’s list and the option to ignore future requests from that player during the current gaming session is presented
A player can remove a friend from their list at any time and such removal will also take them off that friends list at the same time
Requesting a friendship can be done inside and outside of the game client
Friends will be matched with each other as much as possible when entering new sessions
If a choice needs to be made between which players to allow access to a session the player with the most friend influence will trump a neutral or ignored player
Players Friend lists are based on player accounts, not player characters

A player also has the option to add players to an Ignore List which does the following:
Removes any friendship between the players automatically (players can’t be friends with players they ignore)
Ignores all communication from them in game
Ignores any friend requests from them
Is active across multiple gaming session until changed by the player (this is different from the options presented in the above sections as they only last as long as the current gaming session)
People on others ignore lists will not be favoured if a choice exists when match making players together
If all players in a session have the same player ignored then that player will never be able to join that session
If at least one player is neutral or friends with the ignored player above then they will be able to join that session providing there is no better suited players trying to get in at the same time when only one slot is available
If a person earns a bounty their ignore list and friend preferences won’t affect matchmaking, and bounty hunters will still be able to encounter the player, even if the bounty hunter is on the player’s ignore list
If a player is in a session with another player on their ignore list they will still receive messages relating to that players in game actions and pre-canned dialogue, such as declarations of piracy
If a player follows another player’s hyperspace trail, the ignore rules cannot be applied to them. The players will join their next session as a group
Players Ignore lists are based on player accounts, not player characters

In addition to the groups presented above a player can be a part of an Alliance with other players. This is a separate entity that operates within the boundaries of whatever group the players are in:
A player can only ever be in a single alliance at a time
Alliances allow players to indicate trust between themselves so they:
Can freely jettison and pick up cargo between themselves
Can fire upon each other without criminal implications
Gain the same criminal fine/bounty if one or more other members commits a crime
This only occurs if the player is in the same vicinity as the player committing the crime
Have the ability to slave hyperdrive systems together to make travel easier
Get matched as a whole during slaved hyperspace travel and if not possible spawn in their own instance at a location rather than splitting the alliance up
Alliances in the all players group allow those in the alliance to come across other human players as normal except the game is explicitly trying to keep the alliance together when they arrive at the same location through match-making
This is in addition to the normal preference system and operates by giving a much higher weighting to alliance members when determining preferences over friends for example
Alliances in a private group would only meet other players in that private group
Depending on the size of the group, players may typically be in an alliance with everyone else in the private group but multiple alliances can exist in a larger private group if desired
Creating an alliance is handled exactly the same way as creating a private group with the caveat that anyone in the group can invite other players (including non-friend players) into the alliance and no one is the leader
In the all players group any player can be invited into the alliance by any alliance member
In a private group only the players in the private group can be invited into an alliance by alliance members
Players can vote to kick an alliance member out of the alliance
After a set time limit the vote is closed and the majority is taken to decide the outcome unless all members have already voted or the required number of votes is reached
Players can leave freely of their own accord
Any criminal status or reputation earned as a consequence of other alliance members behaviour is kept after leaving an alliance

Hope thats enough for you for now!